


A Queen's Protection

by itsabrandnewday



Category: Arrow (TV 2012)
Genre: Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-11-16
Updated: 2013-11-16
Packaged: 2018-01-01 16:56:26
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,106
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1046269
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/itsabrandnewday/pseuds/itsabrandnewday
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Oliver Queen hurt Felicity Smoak more than he knew while they were in Russia. Someone needs to enlighten him. Who better than Thea Queen.</p>
            </blockquote>





	A Queen's Protection

**Author's Note:**

> No doubt most of us are trying to fix what happened during "Keep Your Enemies Closer." After watching the episode I needed to explore what Felicity was thinking because there wasn't a good indicator of why she was so hurt. I believe it was more than she has feelings for Oliver. They say writing is therapy. It's a lot cheaper than seeing a therapist for sure. Regardless, here is how I dealt with episode 6 of season 2.

                The Thai takeout that Thea had brought for an impromptu visit was quickly disappearing. Oliver leaned back in his office chair and noticed out the corner of his eye that Felicity wasn’t back from her lunch break. Thea had voiced her disappointment at Felicity’s absence, but Oliver wasn’t surprised. Three weeks after their trip to Russia with Diggle and Felicity had joined him for lunch once. Often her portion of lunch went untouched because Digg remained optimistic she’d join them again one of these days. Oliver wished he had a quarter of Digg’s faith because it would give him something to look forward to. Instead he’d grown accustomed to lunches with Digg and sometime Thea. Hell even Isobel had joined him for a couple.

                 “I never knew how good Roy was until after the fourth orgasm last night. He worked all day at the club helping me with a delivery, worked a shift, and then took me home and kept me screaming for hours. Stamina like that deserves a medal and maybe a statue.”

                 “What?” Oliver turned his attention back to Thea as her words permeated his thoughts.

                 “And there he is, ladies and gentlemen.” Thea’s arched eyebrow accused him of ignoring her.

                 “I’m sorry, Thea. My mind has been preoccupied recently. Although if your sex life with Roy is the topic of discussion, I’d rather be preoccupied with investor meetings.”

                 “That’s bullshit and you know it.”

                It was Oliver who raised an eyebrow this time.

                 “There is something on your mind, but I’d venture it is a someone of the female persuasion. You might have dropped out of more colleges than I applied to, but I know you can handle investors. Women you seem especially baffled by.” Thea placed her empty dishes on the desk in front of him before pulling up her legs to sit Indian style on the chair.

                 “Thea, this isn’t the time for one of your attempts at fixing my love life. QC is eating up a lot of my time. Mom’s trial is eating up the rest. I’d like to sleep in my bed when I get the chance.”

                 “I always sleep better after an hour of foreplay and great sex.”

                 “Thea!”

                 “Oliver! Lighten up. You are wound so tightly these days. A good romp in the sack just might loosen you up and help you sleep at night.”

                Felicity chose that moment to return from lunch. She pointedly ignored the glass separating their desks while she shrugged out of her coat. Oliver was inundated with images. Felicity’s face after Isobel left his hotel room in Russia. The pain that flashed in her eyes when Isobel insulted her. The disappointment when she asked why he chose Isobel. Finally the visions he’d conjured in his mind of helping Felicity out of her clothes.

                Oliver was not a blind man. He might be dumb but he wasn’t ignorant. Felicity was a gorgeous woman. He’d recognized that immediately the day he’d walked into her office with a bullet-riddle laptop. Her ability to bring amusement to his life when he thought he’d lost all chance to enjoyment was a gift. He’d screwed it all up when he’d settled for some physical pleasure with the one woman who disrespected Felicity at every turn.

                 “Ollie?” Thea’s hand waved in front of his face. He’d zoned for the second time during their lunch. This time though she followed his line of sight. “Felicity!”

                Felicity’s head popped up when Thea yelled. He could tell she was surprised to see his sister since she hadn’t looked his way once. It was a punch in the gut to know she wasn’t stealing glances out of the corner of her eye. He had more damage to repair than he thought.

                With a deep sigh Felicity stood from her desk and entered his office. Despite Thea’s obvious joy at seeing her, Felicity stopped a few feet inside the door. She fixed her eyes on Thea and ignored him.

                “I love that dress. It is so cute.” Thea hugged the blonde which brought the first smile Oliver had seen in weeks to her lips.

                “Thanks. I needed something to brighten my mood. I went shopping this past weekend. I should text you a picture of the shoes I bought to wear with the purple pants I bought when we went shopping.”

                “I love those pants. Have you had a chance to wear them yet? Wear them to Verdant tonight. I promise you won’t have to stay long. I don’t even need you to do any techy geeky thing. Just come hang out. I haven’t seen you in forever.”

                Oliver watched stunned. Felicity never let on how well she knew Thea. Thea had once informed him of Felicity’s genius at fixing anything, but he didn’t know how deep their friendship went.

                “I’m not really feeling very social these days.” Felicity shook her head as Thea grabbed her hand and began begging.

                Oliver was just about to encourage Felicity to go while subtly hinting she could take the night off from the lair when Isobel pushed her way into his office. The door barely missed hitting Felicity’s hip as it was pushed all the way open.

                “I’m sorry to barge in but there was no one to inform you that I was here for our meeting.” Isobel moved past Thea and Felicity towards his desk.

                Thea’s eyes narrowed at Isobel. It wasn’t the first time the two had encountered each other. After their last encounter Thea had spent ten minutes informing Oliver how Isobel qualified as the world’s biggest bitch.

                “Felicity, Thea, and I were just discussing an issue at Verdant which Thea needed some help with.” Oliver began as Felicity retreated.

                “Actually, I just convinced Oliver to allow me to borrow Felicity for the rest of the day. She was instrumental in setting up the network at Verdant when Oliver started the business. Her expertise is needed and it is a bit of an emergency.” Thea leveled Oliver with a glare.

                “I’m sure Oliver and I can entertain ourselves while you girls are out playing.” Isobel took a seat across from his desk.

                “Business can be so entertaining.” Thea acknowledged with an evil glint. Oliver flinched because he could tell his sister wasn’t done. “Well, my business can be. Oliver is stuck with uptight bitches.”

                Felicity was seated at her desk when Thea blew out of his office. Isobel remained stone faced despite her parting shot. Oliver watched the battle between Felicity and Thea until Felicity caved and began shutting down her computer. Thea propped a hip on Felicity’s desk and tapped out a text message. She must have finished just as Felicity shrugged back into her coat because she lifted her hand in a lazy wave towards his office. The two girls disappeared towards the elevator.

                His phone on the desk danced as it signaled a text message in vibrate mode.

                “You slept with Isobel, asshat. Have you decontaminated yet?”

                Placing his phone face down on the desk, he turned to Isobel but before he could say a word it slid a few inches with another new text alert.

                “You have the intelligence of an alley cat in heat.”

 

                It was hours later when Oliver entered Verdant. Instead of making his way to the basement, he entered through the front doors. Digg hadn’t said a word when Oliver made the request but the question was written on his face.

                Oliver knew his behavior recently had been out of character. Hell he felt like he had an out-of-body experience when he slept with Isobel. He couldn’t explain it himself and when Felicity asked he had to face the truth. There was no good reason for him to do it. He couldn’t even say it was because he was horny. As a healthy male he was always ready, but since his return from the island he’d tried to be a little more picky about who he took up on their offers.  After Helena he’d made a valiant attempt with McKenna. Of course McKenna left and not long after, he’d found himself back in Laurel’s arms.

                Each of those women had meant something to him though. With Helena he thought he had a kindred spirit. With McKenna she was a piece of his past that didn’t despise him. With Laurel he had amends to make. Helena had clearly been a mistake. Laurel had been a monumental mistake given her relationship with Tommy. McKenna had just been a curse of bad timing. Although he’d never imagined they would have lasted too long.

                The truth about Isobel was that he despised her. At first she’d been the enemy and there was a bit of animosity between the two of them. She wanted his family business. He wasn’t inclined to give it to her. Her presence became that of a fly that buzzed around. You couldn’t ignore it but no matter how hard you tried to guide it towards the window, it never actually took the clue to escape.

                Then she’d weaseled her way into the Russia trip. He hadn’t been happy to see her at all. Years of practice had him dealing with it as only a billionaire businessman could. He’d acquiesced and began plotting around her presence. Her presence on the plane had relegated Diggle and Felicity to a separate section. Rather than plotting as a team, they’d segregated themselves to hired help and employer. Felicity and Diggle had enjoyed the flight more than he had if their smiles and constant conversation were an indicator.

                When they’d arrived in the airport and Isobel had dropped the bomb on him about QC believing Felicity slept her way to the position of Executive Assistant, he’d wanted to confront Felicity immediately. She’d never said a word and yet he was convinced that she must have known what people were saying. However, he and Diggle left to meet with his Bratva contact. On the way back to the hotel he’d asked Diggle about the gossip. Diggle had rolled his eyes and asked what else Oliver expected people to say.

                It had been his intention to speak to Felicity about the gossip after Diggle had left. However, she’d been clearly worried and so he left it alone. He and Isobel left for the meeting with QC Russia while Felicity monitored what she could. Oliver intended to return to her side as soon as he could.

                Not committing to returning to her side had been his first mistake. His second had been sharing a drink with Isobel. His third had been having a second drink. His fourth mistake had been accepting her invitation. His fifth had been ignoring the misgiving in his mind while they were on the elevator.

                They made it to his room and rutted like animals. It met some physical need he had but he honestly felt nothing when he opened the door until Felicity was on the other side. Suddenly the shame he felt outweighed any shame he’d ever experienced while living it up as a billionaire playboy. He’d never know how Isobel got dressed so quickly. Although he suspected it had to do with the fact they’d fucked like rabbits and he’d only removed her dress. She must have thrown it on in record time though because she brushed by him and threw a victory smirk at Felicity. The pain on Felicity’s face had nearly been his undoing.

                He’d rushed to catch up with her as she strode towards the elevator. His hand had went to settle on her lower back instinctively. However she moved away from him. They’d taken their seats in their borrowed police transport and she’d pushed herself as far away from him as possible.

                When she’d finally asked, he’d realized what she was really asking. How could he sleep with the one woman who repeatedly belittled her. Mentally sucker punched he’d realized how much of an ass he was. He knew from the beginning that Felicity had developed an attraction to him. He had to her. He also knew that after a year of working together, feelings were now involved. She was a good friend and a partner in his quest to save Starling City. He should have respected her. Instead he slept with the one woman who deemed Felicity insignificant.

                He’d chosen a woman who saw Felicity as a QC employee willing to sleep her way to a raise. He chose a woman who didn’t acknowledge Felicity’s presence except to demand things or dismiss her. He’d chosen a woman who was him before the island.

                For all he’d tried to overcome since returning to the island, for all the sins he had to atone for; Felicity wasn’t on that list. Felicity had knowledge of how much of a dick he’d been through stories. He’d even admitted some of his less than respectable behavior. However, she saw him for the man he was trying to be. She never expected to sleep with him some night at Verdant after a mission. She wasn’t anticipating a quickie in his office between meetings. She regarded him as capable of more than he’d been.

                Which is why he felt an overwhelming need to speak to her. He needed to apologize. He wouldn’t wear the Hood tonight. Tonight he’d do his best to apologize to the one woman besides his mother and sister who loved him unconditionally.

                Verdant had been open an hour so the crowd wasn’t to capacity which meant he could move freely around the floor. He adopted his Oliver Queen party face and greeted various people as they flowed around him. A flash of gold by the bar caught his attention so he directed his steps that way.

                Felicity was sipping a bright blue drink that Oliver guessed his sister had made for her. If Thea made it that meant it was composed of more alcohol than anything else. From previous experience Oliver knew she was a lightweight. However, he didn’t think he should lead with any recommendations that she take it easy.

                As he moved closer he realized Felicity was talking with Roy and another Verdant patron. They were both turned towards each other as they leaned against the bar. As Oliver contemplated walking over to her, he felt a hand land on his arm. It grabbed a handful of his suit jacket and began to drag him away from the bar.

                He recognized the hand as belonging to Thea which was the only reason he didn’t remove it from his arm roughly. Allowing himself to be pulled towards her office, he wondered what lecture he was about to get.

                The door slammed shut behind them and she pointed to the couch against the wall, “sit!”

                He sat. He was partly curious as to where this was going. He’d give her a few minutes and then he’d find Felicity again.

                 “Oliver Queen, you are my brother. I love you. What I am about to say is for your own good. You are a monumental asshole. You slept with Isobel. Isobel Rochev. The woman who is working hard to take QC away from us. The woman who has taken 49% of QC away from us. What the hell were you drinking that night? How many drinks did you have before she started to lose her wicked witch of the west appearance?”

                Oliver opened his mouth to refute the assumption but then realized he couldn’t. He started to tell Thea to mind her own business but Thea wasn’t done.

                 “That woman is the definition of evil. Her picture is in the dictionary next to the fucking word. Did she roofie your drink? Oh my God. I am so… disappointed in you.”

                Oliver opened his mouth but Thea lifted a slim finger and he closed it again.

                 “I don’t even know if you really are my brother. You’ve been different since you’ve been back. More serious. A loner. Distant. However, I thought I knew enough about you to know that you wouldn’t intentionally inflict pain on anyone.” Thea dropped into the chair behind the desk.

                 “I’ve tried to understand you. Maybe Isobel is attractive. Maybe you were drunk. I don’t give a damn. The Ollie I knew would sleep with someone who meant nothing to him before he’d sleep with a woman who is the world’s biggest bitch to your friends. Don’t try and tell me she isn’t either. She’s a bitch to me but I can handle myself. Felicity can’t though.”

                Oliver waited her out.

                 “Do you know what Felicity did after the earthquake? She showed up here two weeks later. You were long gone and she introduced herself somewhere in the middle of a ramble. Twenty minutes later I learned she’d set up the internet and security for Verdant. She offered to help me fix it.”

                Thea turned so she could see out the office window that overlooked the dance floor.

                 “She spent almost a month here with Roy and I. She fixed the internet and security issues. Then she helped me set up vendors. I had to replace most of the ones that you had been using. She helped negotiate repair work. The redesign of this place was done under her influence. Then she helped out at the house. When people kept trespassing, she updated the security system. She helped with background checks on the newly hired security guards.”

                Oliver leaned back and absorbed what his sister was telling him.

                 “One night we were sampling a few of the new bottles. I asked her why she was helping. She told me that you’d done her a favor when you’d asked for her help. You’d shown her that people were worth it. Her fear of people kept her hiding amongst computers for so long because she’s different. You helped her see that there were people who could accept her for who she was.”

                She spun around to face him again. This time anger had settled on her face.

                 “Do you know how amazing she is? How she brightens everyone’s day? It wasn’t that she wasn’t accepted. People might not understand her, but they appreciate her.”

                 “She’s remarkable.” Oliver offered. Guilt settled in his chest.

                 “She is,” Thea nodded. “She’s Felicity. Only right now she isn’t. I’ve tried to understand what happened. How you broke her. I did my best to get the story out of her. I thought maybe you broke her heart. Dumped her for Isobitch. Then I realized. You are too much of a moron to realize what you had in front of you all this time.”

                Silence fell between them. The bass of the music pounded through the floor and walls.

                 “No argument, Oliver? I’m not surprised. I keep looking for the dense Oliver who can’t see what is in front of him. Instead I have the Oliver who sleeps with Roboskank.”

                Oliver snorted as he pushed himself off the couch. He moved to stand in front of the window.

                 “Thea, you have no idea how much I wish I could take back everything that happened? I wish I’d never left after Tommy died. I wish QC hadn’t gone into such turmoil. I wish Isobel Rochev had never walked into my life. I wish she’d never gone to Russia with us. I wish I hadn’t slept with her.”

                He turned to face Thea.

                 “I wish I was half the man that you and Felicity think I am.”

                Felicity still sat at the bar. Her blue drink nearly to the bottom of her glass. The dark-haired stranger was closer than he’d been before. Her smile was bigger and her gesturing even more animated than normal. Thea stood next to him and the siblings observed the blonde for a few moments. Each lost in their own thoughts.

                 “Oliver, you are going to leave her alone. She looks like she is having a good time. Don’t ruin it for her tonight. I forced her to be here. I took her shopping and bought that outfit. You can thank me anytime for reminding you what you’ve been missing out on.” Thea threw a smirk at him. “I’ve taken her keys. Collins has agreed to drive her home whenever she is ready to go. I made her promise to sit here for an hour and have a drink or two and see if she might have fun. It looks like she’s having fun. You can ruin her day tomorrow.”

                Thea raised up to place a kiss on his cheek. Patting his arm, she moved around him towards the door.

                 “I love you, Ollie. Only you can decide to stop fucking up your life though.”

                Over an hour later Oliver watched from the office as Felicity flagged down Thea’s driver, Collins. Oliver wanted to go out and offer to drive her home. He wanted to suggest Diggle do it. He wanted to be sure she was ok and she made it home safely. Yet he was frozen. Don Juan kissed her on the cheek and then the other when she giggled her good-byes. Collins placed his hand on her lower back to guide her from the now crowded club. When they were finally out of sight, Oliver made for the door. There was a dummy or two downstairs that needed an ass kicking.

 

                The next morning Felicity was at her desk when he arrived. Her eyes remained glued to the computer but the dark circles that had been under them were gone. He noticed she had one earbud in and was tapping out a beat. Her mood seemed to have improved with her night out. He scowled when he thought of how much of her good mood might be on account of her drinking buddy. He’d been hoping an apology and maybe groveling on his part would bring back the Felicity he was used to.

                It was nearing lunch time when she tapped on his door. She’d given up barging in when he was alone and it was just another thing he missed.

                 “Your lunch is here.”

                He missed her babbling like a brook. He missed her rambles that he’d have to interrupt in order to get to the point.

                 “Mr. Queen?”

                He nodded and she approached with a bag from Big Belly Burger. He hated that she called him Mr. Queen all the time now.

                 “Felicity Smoak, let’s go woman. I want to hear all about the hottie you were with last night.”

                Thea stood inside his door with Felicity’s coat and purse. Thea nodded but didn’t say anything to him. Felicity laid a straw on top of his To Go cup and turned to join Thea. Behind Thea stood Isobel. One ridiculous eyebrow arched.

                 “I’m getting a sense of déjà vu. Do we do any work in this office?”

                 “Not the kind on our backs. I hear that work happens in your office.” Thea retorted and Oliver fought to stifle the smile when Isobel couldn’t hide her surprise. “Felicity, let’s go before I lose my appetite. The stench of skank just got overpowering.”

                 “Oliver, do you have time to discuss London’s numbers?” Isobel ignored Thea and Felicity as they left his office.

                Thea and Felicity paused so Felicity could pull on her jacket. At that moment the guy from Verdant walked in. Oliver’s door had closed, but he watched Felicity smile and Thea beam with pride.

                Thea pulled his office door open and stuck her head in.

                 “Barry Allen is here to see you. He’s on your calendar for 12:30.”

                 “Isobel, I’m sorry I guess I don’t have a few minutes.” Oliver apologized and stood. The sooner Isobel was out of his office the sooner he could get Barry away from Felicity.

                 “A good assistant would have known and informed you so we didn’t waste our time.” Isobel stood as well. “A better assistant would know where her executive was at all times.”

                 “I wouldn’t sweat it, Barry, if you want to have a seat Mr. Queen will be right with you. After all his interactions with Ms. Rochev are pretty quick. They are practically over before they start.” Felicity pointed Barry towards the couch.

                Oliver bit his lower lip to prevent the smile. Isobel turned astounded eyes on him and he shrugged.

                 “FYI, Isobel, that’s Felicity 1 you 0.” Thea smirked.

                Oliver didn’t know what to make of the situation but when he looked up his eyes locked on with Felicity’s. She’d blushed under the innuendo she’d vocalized. However, Oliver would gladly give her an hour to say whatever she wanted because for the first time in three weeks, she’d willingly met his gaze.

 

 

eleH

 


End file.
